Nick Saban: If he lands in a 3-4 defense, Courtney Upshaw bound for 'very good career'

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JAMES D. SMITH / Dallas Cowboys

A LOOK AT 13 PROSPECTS THE COWBOYS MAY TARGET IN THE NFL DRAFT: The NFL Draft is only a month away, and you can bet that the Cowboys coaching staff has dossiers on a number of top prospects that could fill one of Dallas' many needs. Here's a look at 13 players the Cowboys could target with the 14th pick in April's draft.

Staff reports

Published: 25 April 2012 12:24 PM

Updated: 25 April 2012 12:24 PM

Alabama head football coach Nick Saban recently joined Galloway & Co. on KESN-FM to talk about his players that could be Cowboy targets in the NFL draft. Here are some highlights:

On whether Courtney
Upshaw can be an elite pass rusher:

I think Courtney’s a really good player. First of all, good
guys in the front seven are good players because they’re hard to block, and
he’s hard to block. He’s a good outside backer, he’s a good run player, and I
think he has enough pass rush ability. Not necessarily just an edge rusher
that’s going to beat you with speed every time, but he can turn speed to power
and he’s heavy-handed, and I think that’s always a key to be a good pass
rusher. So I think Courtney’s going to have a very good career too, especially
if he gets with a 3-4 team and can play outside backer.

On whether Dont’a
Hightower can move outside in a 3-4 if Cowboys trade down:

No doubt. He can play inside or outside backer, he can play
mike or will inside. He’s played them both here. He can play outside, he’s been
a designated pass rusher on 3 downs for us. He’s also been a
stand-up fourth rusher when they put all the linebackers in there. He can play
any one of those positions. He’s a smart guy, he’s a signal caller that has
really good leadership qualities and understands football extremely well and
has a lot of diversity in terms of how you can use him. When you’ve got guys
that size, that speed and that athletic who can do so many things, those guys
don’t come around very often.

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